Sotto Voce/Summary
Episode 509: Sotto Voce In Mexico, two men transporting a family across the desert force them off the truck midway, claiming that the family paid only for a certain duration of travel instead of a distance. The family attempts to negotiate, until Shaw arrives and incapacitates the men, allowing the family to drive off in the truck. Shaw continues across the desert on foot. Reese patrols an investment firm while keeping watch on the team's latest number, Terry Easton, a locksmith. Reese pursues Easton into the building after watching him break his way in, and finds Easton next to an incapacitated security guard, holding an active bomb in his hands. Reese disables the bomb and apprehends Easton. Fusco still remains at the 8th precinct while waiting for his new partner to be transferred in; he assists nearby officers bringing in several members of the Templario cartel. In the interrogation room, Easton is too terrified to speak to Reese. Finch reports that the kidnapping of Easton's wife Carla was used to coerce him into planting a bomb in the investment firm. Reese confronts Easton about this when the kidnapper calls and tells Easton that Carla will die due to his failure of his mission. Finch recognizes the caller's voice to match that of an anonymous bomber they encountered two years ago. Finch decrypts the metadata in the picture of the kidnapped Carla sent to Easton's phone, and is able to derive her location at an abandoned warehouse. Fusco, meanwhile, question an unsuspecting cab driver named Amir Saddiq regarding an unregistered firearm in his possession. Amir protests innocence. Finch meets with Elias at his safehouse to discuss "the Voice", who Elias recognizes as a past adversary. Elias feels obligated to help the team as a token of gratitude for saving his life, and agrees to assist Finch in finding the mysterious criminal. Reese sends in a troop of SWAT officers to the warehouse, but receives a call from the Voice right as a bomb in the building is detonated, killing the officers inside. The precinct is alerted to several other bomb threats surfacing around the city. Finch checks in with Reese before breaking into a school with Elias. That night, Root is on a rooftop spying on a radio engineer with links to Samaritan, presumably working to extend the AI's bandwidth. Two Samaritan agents meet him on the rooftop, but both are gunned down by a shooter from a nearby building, who Roots spots escaping before taking pursuit. Fusco returns to the lockup, confronting Amir with evidence linking him to multiple unresolved homicides. Amir lets down his act and requests an attorney, but Fusco denies it and keeps him in solitary confinement. Easton receives a package that was slipped beneath his interrogation room door. Finch and Elias locate the school's custodian, Raul, who is also a notorious bombmaker responsible for providing Elias with the device used to kill his father. Elias forced Raul to admit that he was commissioned to construct bombs for the Voice, and has him provide their locations around the city. Fusco reports his findings on Amir's crimes to Reese. Reese catches Easton attempting to leave the precinct; Easton tells him that the package he received instructed him to free the Templario gang members held in the building. Finch informs Reese that the bombs are all located within the vicinity of the 8th precinct; the threats appear to be distractions intended to draw out the police force currently inside the building, likely in an attempt to allow the Templarios to escape. They realize that the Voice has a mole within the NYPD who provided Easton with his instructions. The power in the precinct goes out. Root gives chase to the gunman who killed the Samaritan agents, but the man is shot by Shaw, who corners Root. Shaw explains that she has been hunting down Samaritan agents since her escape from captivity, and hastily attempts to leave. Root stops her and demands an explanation; Shaw discloses details on the simulations she was put through, and how all of them resulted in her killing her comrades. The Templarios are let loose and the 8th precinct is taken under siege, with Reese, Fusco and an officer named Chen being the only active cops in the building. They realize that the gang members aren't trying to escape the precinct, but rather provide themselves an opportunity to kill someone being kept inside. Finch and Elias discover a room serving as the Voice's base of operations. The Templarios are revealed to be after Amir, the Voice's former assassin; Amir is rescued from impending gang forces and discloses that he is aware of the Voice's identity, and that the Voice has sent the Templarios to kill him as he has the potential to compromise his employer's anonymity. Amir is removed from solitary confinement and placed in a secluded interrogation room near where Easton is kept protected. Officer Chen, who was tasked with securing the room is revealed to be the Voice's mole inside the precinct, but Reese shoots him before he can kill Amir. The Templarios corner Reese and Fusco, and the two engage in a shootout with the gang members in the bullpen. Root attempts to convince Shaw that she is safe, but Shaw draws a gun on her, further explaining that she is unable to get herself to kill Root in any of the simulations, and opts to commit suicide instead. Root responds by pointing a gun at herself, telling Shaw that she cannot live without her and that she will die too if Shaw decides to end her life. Elias shows Finch an elaborate board of leads and clues used by the Voice to monitor Finch's activity. Finch identifies an actress named Jennifer Kent, who was hired to masquerade as Easton's abducted wife. The two realize that Easton fabricated his story to divert the cops and thus allow him to target someone held in the precinct. With Reese and Fusco occupied in the bullpen, Easton uses the opportunity to enter Amir's interrogation room and confront him. Amir is horrified, and Easton repeats the Voice's signature phrase, "cleanliness is all." Finch frantically reports to Reese that Easton has been lying to them, but Easton gets to Reese in the bullpen; Fusco stops his attempt at killing Reese and is injured in the process. Easton manages to escape while Reese and Fusco find Amir dead in his room. As Easton leaves a precinct, he receives a call from Finch, who approaches him from behind while explaining how he was able to uncover his identity. Easton holds Finch at gunpoint, but is himself cornered by Elias. The two criminals agree on a truce, but as Easton drives away, Elias detonates a bomb placed inside the getaway car. Finch nonchalantly looks on, briefly feigning surprise while Elias tells him nothing else was to be expected. The following morning, Reese takes Fusco to the precinct rooftop, getting rid of his phone and standing out of camera view. With permission from Finch, he finally tells Fusco about the Machine, feeling that Fusco deserves answers after being kept in the dark for so long. The two meet with Finch shortly afterwards, where Root arrives and reunites Shaw with the rest of the team. Category:Season 5 Category:Episode Summaries Category:Season 5 Episode Summaries